Thirty years ago today, Robert Mugabe was elected as Zimbabwe’s first Black Prime Minister, and the country erupted in celebration. But in the interem, many have regretted his era of rule, which has been sometimes characterized by executive power-grabbing and economic disaster.

We talk to Brighton Mudzingwa, who was born and raised in Zimbabwe, and to Andrew Meldrum, a journalist who worked in Zimbabwe from 1980 until his forcible ejection in 2003, about Mugabe's long rule.